Cleaning gutters around a house has become a seasonal chore that is necessary in order to assure the proper functioning of the gutter, and a manual cleaning thereof can be quite laborious. Various prior art devices which attempt to reduce the amount of labor include the following prior art devices:
U.S. Pat. No. 531,989, Andrews PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,125,928, Knerr PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,624,299, Beegle PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,077,055, Tripp, Jr. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,091,055, Hegedusich
Curiously, all of these mechanisms can be characterized by their complexity and therefor the associated cost in initially installing them, and the likelihood of failures rendering system inoperable due to the plurality of components.
For example, Tripp provides a nonstanderized circular trough which is fashioned to reside in a bearing support from which extends the downspout the performance of which is controlled by a chain extending down the building.
Andrews provides a gutter attachment in which the gutter is pivoted at its bottom extremity through a linkage system connected near the ground level through a rod whereby actuation of the lever system causes the gutter to rotate inwardly towards the house, and as shown in FIG. 3 is not likely to provide a complete emptying of the debris within the gutter. Further, the downspount system at the area of interconnection must have a flared enlarged terminal portion to allow for the rotation period.
Similarly, Hegedusich provides a system of considerable complexity requiring a biasing element and a four bar linkage provided with a plurality of adjustments to allow the rain gutter bracket to become reoriented.
The remaining references show the state of the art further.
Clearly, none of the references provides a system for the expeditious removal of debris from a gutter which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and reliable in use. Further distinctions can be appreciated by considering the ensuing discussion of the instant invention.